A Mirror

James 1 says,

 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a  hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Okay, let’s look at this passage practically.  Go to the mirror, look at yourself intently, and then walk away.  What did you see?  I’m guess you either saw your imperfections that you want to adjust before you leave the house, or you saw an image you liked, and you walked away pleased.

When we hear the word of God it’s like peering into God’s image he has for us.  And obviously, we will see places where we fall sort.  But if we do what the word says (become a doer not just a hearer) it’s like brushing our hair, cleaning our face, and stepping out to face the world with confidence in how we look – in His image.'

Not many of us forget what we look like when we look into a mirror.  The image we see sometimes even haunts us throughout the day.

This passage says if we hear His word only, and never do it, we delude ourselves.   We fool ourselves. We deceive ourselves.

Just as straightening our look in the morning presents a better picture than crawling out of bed and greeting the world with bed hair, so does hearing the word and responding to it.  

We become that which we hear and receive – the word of Life.